Stranded
by Dea Mariella
Summary: A spell has been cast upon the gang. But where are they now? Not in Japan, that's all that I'll say...
1. Prologue

Dea Mariella

Stranded: An Inuyasha Fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, that honor and glory belongs to the great Rumiko Takahashi-sama. But I do rent them for the sumptuous sum of $.02 a week…

Prologue

It had been a long battle. Even little Shippou had fought hard, but it was to no avail. The black miko they had been tracing for days, vanished.

They had first come across signs of some malignant magic in Musashi's domain the week before. It actually turned up 20 minutes walk outside of the village they call home. Nothing major, just little perversions with the natural harmony of life. Faintly disquieting things, such as a stream running the opposite direction. If you hadn't known that they were wrong, you would have never noticed. So they set out to stop this strange work.

It was Miroku who found her; for all of his hentai-ness, he was still a monk. Kagome, though powerful, was not suited for this kind of subtle work. She was more used to the blazing signal of youkai jyakki.

She had laughed when they came to fight her, for she knew they wouldn't win. She laughed, recited a strange spell, and vanished into thin air. Luckily, Sango threw Hiraikotsu while the miko was attempting to bewitch them, for who knows just what would have happened. Too bad it looked like she was almost done…


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dea Mariella

Inuyasha woke up with a start. Something was wrong. He immediately checked the surrounding area for a malign presence. But no, everything was as it should be; Kagome curled in her "saleeping bagu", the kit next to her, the Taijiya sleeping just out of reach of the houshi, everything relatively peaceful. The "pack" was safe. He sat back in his tree, reassured.

It was a beautiful, calm spring day; almost an hour to the dawn, Inuyasha noted. But the nagging feeling of wrongness persisted. It tickled the back of his mind as to the problem, but he drew no conclusions. With a heavy sigh, Inuyasha gave it up for lost.

Then jumped; as upon reaching the forest floor, the smell hit him. This was not home! Not that he considered anyplace home, per se, but this was not a familiar scent. Their own scents had only been in the area a few hours; with no trail leading to it.

This overwhelmed the poor hanyou; he had not had much occasion to use his brain, so it was overworked now. He reasoned that is was close enough to morning; the others could wake now. With a quick jump, he was out of the tree and beside Kagome.

"Oi, wench. Wake up. Something funny's happening."

Kagome's first instinct was to snuggle back in bed and inform the speaker that without five more minutes, there would be bloodshed. But the words hit her brain. Inuyasha admitted something was wrong? She was up in a flash. She could see the hanyou waking Miroku and Sango. Now she started to get worried.

After a quick mental conference, she determined the best course of action would be to start breakfast. If there truly was a problem, they would all feel better with food in them. She bustled off to start the fire.

Miroku awoke to the sounds of "Oi, bouzo, get up" and a rough push. He obligingly opened his eyes and sat up. Inuyasha was directly in front of him; his waker. Miroku opened his mouth to say something, but the hanyou had already moved on to Sango.

Looking across the campsite, Miroku was that Kagome was awake as well. Noting the time of day, he figured that the matter must indeed be urgent. In a seemingly casual glance (much practiced though!), he gave his token half-smile at the now-awake slayer; albeit a very muddled and sleepy slayer. His hand itched, and Miroku found it necessary to distance himself. A few brief prayers would be in order for this morning. Who knew what was to come in the day ahead? As he moved just out of earshot, he thought 'A little prayer never hurt…'

With this thought in mind, he continued ambling into the woods a step.

'Loud voice…?…"Get up"…no…' It was here, that conditioning took over. Having obeyed orders all of her life, Sango opened her eyes to see the purple ones of the houshi staring at her. He smiled, and walked away. Confused, Sango turned to see the rude interrupter of her sleep examining Miroku's wards on the campsite. She frowned sleepily. What was wrong?

Movement caught her eye; Kagome was fixing breakfast. 'Ah, I can help!'

With that goal in mind, the Taijiya made her way across the camp.

A sudden rush of cold air roused Shippou. The small kitsune snuggled into the body next to him…to discover it missing. He woke up completely. Kagome had left!

No, there she was, making breakfast with Sango. There was something odd about the scene, but his still-muddled mind couldn't place it. Miroku was praying just out of earshot, the girls were cooking, Inuyasha was jumping around the edges of the camp like a demented chicken…that can hop into trees 20 feet in the air…

The time! It was still dark! Something was up, and he was bound to know why. So he stove to do it Shippou-style: he whined.

"Inuyasha, why are we up so early? It's your fault isn't it! You made Kagome get up! Why did you have to…"

'Okay, one more to check. Where is it?' As Inuyasha gazed around the campsite for the remaining ofuda, he was aware of the curious subtle and not-so-subtle glances from his companions. 'Feh! Like I care what they do or don't thing about me!'

He then spied the last of the protective scrolls, and sped over to check it's power. Still working. There goes his only reason as to why they were not where they were before. He finally gave in to the stares of the pack. Giving the kit a good bop on the head, he headed over towards the fire, and gestured to all to gather. When they were all sitting silently, waiting for his announcement, he began.

"I don't know what to tell you, except that we are not where we were last night."

And then all hell broke loose.

A.N. Whatcha think? Huh? r/r please!!!!!

Dea-chan


	3. Chapter 2

Stranded: Chapter 2

Dea Mariella

Disclaimer: no, I don't own Inuyasha…but I do now own Kirara! (…ok, so she's plushy…)

I don't know what to tell you, except that we are not where we were last night.

Kagome just gazed at Inuyasha, almost expecting him to jump and say "April Fools!" 'But wait…why would Inuyasha know of this tradition…? And wasn't it September?' While the rest of the camp flew into action and a flurry of words, she remained motionless, locked into place.

She knew him to be truthful, even when trying to delude herself. He wouldn't meet her gaze; that was her clue. He was embarrassed at having a weakness in front of them all, something that he couldn't control and/or fix. It was this that made him hide his head from them all, from her.

So, she gazed steadily at him, trying to get him out of his shell; to tell him that it was alright to not be all-powerful. When the din had reached the level of a mere sonic boom, she quietly asked her question.

"How can you tell?"

The others quieted down to hear the answer. The quick glance he gave her told her that he was grateful for a question he could answer, but wasn't about to say it. She inwardly smiled.

"There are two things. The first is that the very air around us smells unfamiliar."

Miroku interrupted. "But we had never been here before; wouldn't camping in a strange place be unfamiliar as well?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, this is different. It smells…wrong. I can't explain." He fell silent, appearing to ponder his words.

Kagome spoke up yet again. "You said that there were two reasons. What is the second?"

"The other reason is that our scents do not have a trail leading here. They are merely in this area protected by the houshi's ofuda."

Miroku nodded in comprehension. "That would imply a form of magic, a fairly strong one at that. Perhaps Kagome-sama would be able to sense an aura…?"

Kagome quickly stood up and went to the edge of the barrier. Closing her eyes, she rested her hand upon where she felt the edge. Gently, she extended her senses beyond her hand…and found nothing. She returned to the group.

"There was nothing out there. It is just forest, although an unfamiliar one."

The group collectively sat and pondered this. Finally, Shippou spoke up.

"Could we eat anyways?"

The sight of the kitsune had always driven Inuyasha into a frustrated state of mind, and his comment now was not welcome. Kagome saw the storm and went to head it off.

"Yes, we can eat quickly, and then be on our way. For, that is our plan, correct?"

Inuyasha peevishly nodded. "It is, but be snappy about the eating."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome stood up to help Sango divvy out the food. The slayer gave her an exasperated smile at the antics of the menfolk that morning. For even now, Inuyasha had finally given in and was chasing Shippou around the fire, attempting to beat the crap out of him; and failing miserably. Kagome quickly grew tired of it, and put an end to it the easy way: the rosary.

"OSUWARI!"

Thud

A wave of profanity followed shortly afterward, but Kagome just concentrated on her food. All too soon for her comfort, the breakfast was over. Alone in their thoughts, they headed out into the great unknown.

A.N. how do you think it's coming? If you think that it's worth anything, REVIEW! They are always much appreciated!

Also, I received an anonymous review claiming that I made Inuyasha "think" too much. I am slightly offended and very amused by this thought. I have never held with the belief that only the obvious in their natures are true. Those fanfics which just have Inuyasha being a stupid ass, not noticing the nose on his face; with Kagome doing nothing but running around saying osuwari and running home. It just makes no sense to me. How could a little boy from about age 6 to 16 survive on his own without using his brain? Now, I'm not trying to claim he's a genius, but I don't think he's stupid. That's just one of my deciders between a good story and a bad one; how they portray the characters. It's just me, and "someone", if you are offended by my comments, I apologize; it came out slightly more hostile than I had planned. But fear not, for I will continue and finish the story in decent time I should hope.

Dea-chan


End file.
